The present disclosure relates to a patient support apparatus, such as a hospital bed, for supporting a patient. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a foot panel integrated with an inflatable bladder assembly.
Some hospital beds known are configured to move between a conventional bed position, wherein the patient support surface is generally flat, and a chair egress position, wherein the foot end portion of the patient support surface is lowered so that a patient can egress or exit the bed from a sitting position.
The length of the foot end portion of the patient support surface that is lowered typically defines the minimum seat height of a bed in the chair egress position. It is often desirable to minimize the seat height of a bed in the chair egress position to facilitate safe patient egress from the bed. In some beds, when the foot end of the patient support surface is lowered, the foot end of the patient support surface has been retracted to minimize the bed seat height.